A multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) is a technology for simultaneously sending a same service to multiple user equipments (UE) by using a broadcast channel, and a group of UEs that receive a same service receive the service by using a same downlink configuration, and it is not necessary to establish a link for each UE.
A multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network (MBSFN) is a transmission manner in which synchronous transmission is performed in multiple cells at a same frequency at a same time, and frequency resources can be effectively reduced, spectrum utilization can be improved, and coverage can be improved by using the transmission manner.
A multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE) is a logic entity, multiple MBSFN areas used for MBSFN transmission may be configured, and a radio resource is allocated to all evolved NodeBs (eNB) in an MBSFN area for MBSFN transmission.
The MCE instructs, in a statistical manner, to perform statistics on UEs that receive a service, and when a quantity of the UEs that receive a service is less than a particular quantity, the MCE may determine to suspend MBSFN transmission of the service. A specific implementation process is as follows: The MCE determines to suspend MBSFN transmission of a service, and updates a configuration of an eNB by using MBMS scheduling information, where information about the service is no longer carried in a new configuration; the eNB instructs UE to update a service configuration, where the information about the service is no longer carried in a new service configuration; after receiving the updated service configuration, if the UE finds that the information about the service is not in new configuration information, the UE considers that the service is stopped; and if the UE expects to continue to receive the service, the UE needs to trigger establishment of a unicast service again, and continues to receive the MBMS service by using the unicast service.
As can be known, if an MCE suspends MBSFN transmission of an MBMS service, after detecting that MBSFN transmission of the service is suspended, UE needs to establish a unicast bearer to continue to receive the MBMS service. The MBMS service cannot continue to be received until the unicast bearer is established completely. Because it needs to take a period of time to establish the unicast bearer, receiving the service by the UE is interrupted in this period of time.